For all you righties out there that think it is quite humorous to be left handed imagine a world where everything YOU used was left-handed. This includes car controls, power tools, doors, and least of all guns, and even the lowly screw-imagine if that changed to a left hand rule. Everything goes the wrong way so when we are able to get guns that actually accomodate our infliction it is a bit of a treat cuz there aint much of it out there. You learn to use it or you dont do it. Perhaps this is why some of us tend to be a bit sensitive to remarks poked in fun or not. Kinda like being reminded you are lame or just plain different. My $0.02
Lever Actions and other guns for Lefties’
- Thread starter Bronco Boy
- Start date
- Location
- Maple Ridge, BC
Without whining or (sounding like a ##### I hope) let me say that if you are not left handed you have no idea what we go through on a daily basis.............everything is backwards to us. Think about traditional martial arts or the military; both insanely difficult for lefties to excel in. I can't even close my left eye and keep my right one open for Christ sakes, try teaching me to shoot right handed!
actually, a lot of us lefties have LEARNED to live with it or make allowances
i still cuss that i was taught to write right, ( b.c.) but we can make other shots that the righties can't even envision- and we have more capacity to be ambidexterous- and there are enough guns out there if you look around that you don't HAVE to shoot right handed- the 1911a1, was actually designed left, as was the colt saa- the primary arm back then was the sabre, carried on the left , but used with the right- the 1911 has a right holster, but all but the safety can be easily accessed by the trigger finger of the left hand-shooting is a personal thing, and you can use whatever eye comes as a master eye- you'll learn more about that as you shoot- anybody that says you have to shoot right doesn't know much
i still cuss that i was taught to write right, ( b.c.) but we can make other shots that the righties can't even envision- and we have more capacity to be ambidexterous- and there are enough guns out there if you look around that you don't HAVE to shoot right handed- the 1911a1, was actually designed left, as was the colt saa- the primary arm back then was the sabre, carried on the left , but used with the right- the 1911 has a right holster, but all but the safety can be easily accessed by the trigger finger of the left hand-shooting is a personal thing, and you can use whatever eye comes as a master eye- you'll learn more about that as you shoot- anybody that says you have to shoot right doesn't know much
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Republic of Alberta
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- ,location, location
Yes, I can shoot a left or right handed bow equally well and have owned both. I can also shoot a rifle right handed about as well as the average hunter and twice actually shot deer right handed because of the situation at the time....gun up, BANG, deer down. No hesitation.
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Not to interupt on the thread jacking, but my sister shoots left, (well, 2 of them anyway) and my Dad and I have been looking for a decent used LH bolt. They always manage with the other PH that my Dad had picked up for my oldest sis, but you can tell that it's just not working for them. Between him in Manitoba, and me in Edmonton, pickings have been slim. We've seen a few Savage 99's, and a couple Winchester 88's. An earlier post says that the BLR's can bounce off the arm and back in. Has any leftie had any more experience like this with these lever's? I'd rather not find out the hard way, but at least I'd have another gun to fool around with, even if they don't like it. Which isn't a bad thing really.
i've had a savage 99 since 72 or so in 308 and it's my go-to deer, moose, and elk gun- 180 grain slugs - i won't trust it for bears however, as we get the really big variety and i feel the 308 is marginal at best for that class of animal- there's also the oh sh*t factor and that's when the 338 bar comes out- i don't get what you mean as to the blr bouncing off the arm and back in- pls explain
My sisters only go deer hunting, so it's not like it will be life and death with a bear chasing them down, but to have an empty to do that certainly isn't fun. Btw, I should clarify, my sisters are left eye dominant, not left handed.. They are right handed for everything else though.
never ran into that ever- usually all my empties go flying well clear of the gun, and end up about 10 feet away, off to the right -i'm trying to imagine how this is possible, and the only thing i can come up with is the way he grips the forearm must be unusual, as my forearm and arm are both well below the rifle's ejection port- and i've been at this game 30+ years and used almost every kind of action,
- Location
- Maple Ridge, BC
As a lefty I have decided to only own/buy firearms that are totally ambidextrous or lefty specific. Having brass fly across your field of vision is just not cool and having safeties on the wrong side is potentially dangerous. Their are enough guns we (we being the lefty) can shoot without compromise why fu*k around with guns designed for right handed people?
Remington, Tikka, Browning, Ruger and Savage all make left handed bolt action rifles available in a wide rang of calibers and models.
Browning offers the BAR semi auto rifle in a left handed configuration. The Browning BPS shotgun with it's top tang safety and bottom ejection is truly an ambidextrous gun.
Remington offers a wide range of single shot rifles that are ambidextrous and the 870 express in a left handed configuration.
Ruger offers a amazing line of single shot rifles that are ambidextrous.
MOST, but a long way from all, over/under and side by side shot guns are ambidextrous.
Remington, Tikka, Browning, Ruger and Savage all make left handed bolt action rifles available in a wide rang of calibers and models.
Browning offers the BAR semi auto rifle in a left handed configuration. The Browning BPS shotgun with it's top tang safety and bottom ejection is truly an ambidextrous gun.
Remington offers a wide range of single shot rifles that are ambidextrous and the 870 express in a left handed configuration.
Ruger offers a amazing line of single shot rifles that are ambidextrous.
MOST, but a long way from all, over/under and side by side shot guns are ambidextrous.
I have both a Savage 99c in 308 and a left hand bolt Ruger 77mkII ss in 30-06. The Ruger is broken in now and the action is smooth and crisp. They have a rep for reliability and decent accuracy. I am getting 3in groups at 200meters. Good enough to hunt with. I didnt buy it for target so I am happy and it is a good looking rifle as well. Been floated, bedded, had the crown lapped and trigger done as well as mounting a Leupold VXIII 2.5-8 on it. I think what I have to do now is just shoot the damn thing and get better with it. Sure is a delight to have a leftie bolt. I am waiting for a CZ452 American 22 to come in too. That should keep me busy for a while. I see Savage lists a bunch of lefties too. Check out the CZ site as well. Happy shooting all.
spoken as a true man with limited vision- the right ejection means nothing, and you're missing out on a lot of excellent guns - about the only thing i feel clumsy with is the right handed bolt- and i'm left hand/left eye dom- if we had bullpups in canada , your argument might have validity in certain cases, but i've found out i can shoot everything else-
- Location
- Maple Ridge, BC
t-star, each to their own dude.......right hand ejection means nothing to you, good on ya,....many left handed shooters, myself included, don't like right hand ejection while shooting left. Their is a reason firearms manufacturers offer semi-autos and pumps in left hand ejection models......because to many of us right ejection means something!
As for your comment that I am "a man of limited vision" Whatever.......
As for your comment that I am "a man of limited vision" Whatever.......
Also could well be that it has a lot to do with the particular shotgun or rifle that is doing the right hand ejecting. Never really noticed it on my 870 or my 94 30-30 but may have been more of a nuisance on something else-never got that far with it. Browning makes a pump that bottom ejects. Guess it depends on what you are shooting and maybe even how much you shoot it.
for that matter, the ithica 37 also feeds and ejects through the bottom, which was picked up from a remington way back when- our beloved fnc1/c2 had left hand cocking, but right eject- and you haven't lived till you've had a "warm" round from a left eject go down your back from a non-baffled firing point- smart r/o's put the left ejectors at the end of the firing line, on the left side, if they know there is one
Well, I guess I'm more ambidexterous that some of you, judging from your complaints. I don't experiece these types of difficulties as you folks have described, although I definitely have a preference for things specifically designed for us lefties. And no, I am NOT ambidexterous.
About the only thing I experienced in martial arts is that I could not generate as much power with my non-dominant hand or foot, and a few maneuvers were a little more difficult on the right side as on the left. And I can shoot rightie if I NEED to.
I would imagine that the same holds true for righties, as not all of us are so strongly dominant on one side.
Oh, boohoo. Imagine a world populated by short people. Door frames are cut too low, tables, chairs, desks are too low, light switches too low, beds and sleeping bags too short, cars with seats too close to the dash and roofs too low, shower heads too low. Chandeliers are a constant source of banged heads. etc, etc.
No one's 'normal,' so have a damn sense of humour. People who 'tend to be a bit sensitive' are people I tend to not associate with.
I personally know five or six lefty hunters who shoot right, and actually can't shoot left.
well, I'm a left handed shooter and my first rifle I was on a limited budget so I bought a marlin 30-30. Took that one hunting season and got a deer with it but it was 150 yard shot that hit in the hind quarter wrecking some of the meat. The style of hunting i was doing I knew that I would need something else. So I got a Remington 700cdl Left hand bolt. Very happy with it but once the glass and smith work were done it was like triple the cost. But totally worth it in my opinion.
Bittermansbro
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Calgary, AB
I have lots of the 'normal' stuff, but for things like hunting I use an old 1894. Being a leftie, I think its just smarter, especially when I don't know whether I may have to snap off a couple additional shots in a hurry. Other than levers, I have nothing 'leftie specific'
